NEW YORK COMIC-CON 2012 REVIEW

The seventh New York Comic-Con and Anime Convention took place over the past weekend, (Oct. 11th-14th) giving fans of comic books, films, TV, video games, books and anime a full weekend of events. There was something there to entertain even the most hard-to-please fan.

Sold out weeks in advance, this year's NY Comic-Con drew 115,000 attendees, according to the NY Daily News. Held once again at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, the popular annual event filled the large convention center. From the upper floor to the basement level, the place was jammed full of fans, all gathered to enjoy the four-day mass-media celebration.

A large portion of the attendees came in costume. More women than men were attired in 'cosplay' but at least half the people who came were dressed for the event. Among the women, Catwoman outfits seemed to be the most popular this year. Wonder Woman is always well represented at every Con. There were also plenty of ladies outfitted as the Black Widow, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and the Black Canary. (The uninhibited nature of some of the lady's costumes is one of the joys of the con.) For the men, Matt Smith's 11th Doctor from Dr. Who was the most common costume, probably because it's so easy to make. (Just add jacket and bowtie and, presto, instant Doctor!) Beyond that were lots of guys attired as Thor, Captain America, Naruto and the ever-popular Batman.

The biggest draws this year were...the panel for AMC's Walking Dead season three; The premier showing of footage for the film Silent Hill: Revelation 3D based on the video game; The first showing of footage of the animated Batman: the Dark Knight Returns Part 2, along with a panel discussion; A panel on the remake of the cult classic Horror film Evil Dead, which featured an appearance by original franchise star Bruce Campbell, who is producing the revamp; a panel on the remake of Steven King's Carrie, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore; The cast of 666 Park Avenue giving us a tease of what's to come with their new series; a Q & A on the CW's new Arrow series; A 50th anniversary celebration for Marvel's most iconic of heroes Spider-Man; and a 10th anniversary look back at Firefly.

Lots of celebrities were there to sign autographs and schmooze with the guests. The star signers included Adam West and Burt Ward of the classic Batman TV show; Christopher Lloyd of the Back to the Future franchise and Star Trek 3; the Search for Spock; Guillermo Del Toro, director of Hellboy; Ian McDiarmid, the evil Emperor of the Star Wars franchise; Peter Davison, the 5th Doctor on Doctor Who; Sean Astin, AKA Sam of the Lord of the Rings films; Seth Green of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Robot Chicken; Tom Felton of the Harry Potter films and Rise of the Planet of the Apes; Lou Ferrigno, who was the original Incredible Hulk; and Nicholas Brendon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

There were discussions on the future of classic comics such as 'the Avengers' and 'the Green Lantern', and there were also a lot of unknown writer/artists there to promote their new series. Among the brand new series were such titles as 'High School Heroes' by James Mascia and Shani Vargo; 'Mankind: the Story of all of Us', which is a cross-promotion for an upcoming History Channel documentary series about the history of the human race (Written by popular comics scribe Marv Wolfman); and the upcoming Web comic 'Thunderkind', which puts a modern spin on Norse mythology. New animated web series were debuted, including 'Welcome to Creepyville' (which can be seen on Youtube) and 'Skeleton Crew'. A stage rendition of the comic 'Kill Shakespeare' was performed live on the variant stage, as was a puppet show from the Central park zoo's Wildlife Theater.

Some people used the Con for fundraising for worthy causes, including the people behind the show Whale Wars, who were trying to raise awareness for the threat to endangered marine species, and 'Superheroes for Hospices', who collected old comics to auction off to raise money for better hospice care.

Lots of video games were previewed including new Marvel games, the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter; Capcom games; Halo 4: the Master Chief Returns and many others. There were also cars on display. Not only was the famous Batmobile there (In several incarnations) but also cars with designs that paid tribute to other popular franchises.

Beyond that, there were unusual events such as the Dancers of Vice performing; Speed Dating for Comic Fans; and a line of Avengers fragrances. Craftsman tools was there to promote their handy hardware with a Craftsman/Justice League comic book. There was also comedy on the Variant Stage, including the ensemble group who performed "Nerdalogues", and a stand-up comic called Uncle Yo. And let's not forget the daily costume contests.

Other than squeezing through the solid mass of human flesh that seemed poised to burst the Javits Centor apart at the seams, the event was a lot of fun. It was well attended and well received and a super time was had by fans of all ages, races and genders.